Cry for Judas
Cry for Judas is the third song on the album Transcendental Youth. A music video for the song, directed by Carlo Mirabella-Davis, can be viewed here. Lyrics Some things you do just to see How bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'Til those thoughts are a blur of spinning wheels But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean Long black night, morning frost I'm still here, but all is lost Speed up to the precipice And then slam on the brakes Some people crash two or three times And then learn from their mistakes But we are the ones who don't slow down at all And there's nobody there to catch us when we fall Long black night, morning frost I'm still here, but all is lost Feel the storm every night, hope it passes by Hallucinate a shady grove where Judas went to die Unfurl the black velvet altar cloth Draw a white chalk baphomet Mistreat your altar boys long enough And this is what you get Sad and angry, can't learn how to behave Still won't know how in the darkness of the grave Long black night, morning frost I'm still here, but all is lost Comments by John Darnielle About this Song * "It's a song about the shame that you carry within you throughout the world and that you can never seem to shrug yourself free of. You will get free of it someday, but I personally can't tell you how because I don't know." -- 2012-12-17 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA * "I mean, the 'this is what you get' in 'Cry for Judas' isn't a vengeance visited upon an external party but on the victim by himself. The full line is: 'And this is what you get: sad and angry, can't learn how to behave/Still won't know how in the darkness of the grave.' It's kind of naively hopeful that the imagined victimizer would think about the effects of mistreating someone and feel bad about that." -- Interview, Sadie Magazine * "I'd like to play you another song about suicidal depression. It's about - if you are a certain type of person - me - you, you, but I'm not the only one, uh, you hear about somebody who did something horrible and drastic and you feel bad, but there's a part of you that goes, 'what, that's, now I know, now I recognize my kind, because he did that.' So this is about a guy who did a terrible thing and he couldn't live with the memory of it, and so he went and did a worse thing, and it's called 'Cry for Judas.'" -- 2015-04-02 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN Things Referenced in this Song *"Hallucinate a shady grove where Judas went to die" is a Biblical reference. Judas Iscariot famously betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, led the army to arrest Jesus, and found him in a grove. The lyric implies that when Judas led the army to Jesus, he already regretted his betrayal and was willing to die by the hand of either Jesus, God or even himself (this makes sense considering his suicide soon afterwards.) This ties in with regrets and betrayal in the rest of the song. (Either that, or he had already spiritually died when he had betrayed Jesus.) * The song also references Satanism and consequently, why good people turn bad. The lyric "Unfurl the black velvet altar cloth / Draw a white chalk baphomet" references the typical satanic ritual setup, along with the famous satanic symbol of the 'Baphomet'. Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2012-07-28 - Antiwarpt Festival - St. Petersburg, FL *2012-07-xx - Gothamist House Session - Florida Keys Recording Studio Rooftop - Queens, NY *2012-09-11 - WFUV Session - New York, NY *2012-10-09 - The National - Richmond, VA *2012-10-10 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD *2012-10-11 - Theater of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA *2012-10-13 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY *2012-10-14 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY *2012-10-15 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2012-10-16 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2012-10-18 - House of Blues - Boston, MA *2012-10-19 - The Haunt - Ithaca, NY *2012-10-20 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, Ontario *2012-10-22 - Fine Arts Center - Calvin College - Grand Rapids, MI *2012-10-23 - Pabst Theatre - Milwaukee, WI *2012-10-24 - The Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN *2012-10-26 - Blue Moose Tap House - Iowa City, IA *2012-10-27 - The Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL *2012-11-29 - Terminal West - Atlanta, GA *2012-11-30 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC *2012-12-01 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN *2012-12-03 - Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK *2012-12-04 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX *2012-12-05 - Emo's East - Austin, TX *2012-12-08 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ *2012-12-09 - Club Congress - Tucson, AZ *2012-12-10 - The Irenic - San Diego, CA *2012-12-12 - Masonic Lodge - Hollywood Forever Cemetery - Los Angeles, CA *2012-12-13 - Troubadour - West Hollywood, CA *2012-12-14 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2012-12-16 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR *2012-12-17 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *2013-01-20 - Rock for Roe at The Pinhook - Durham, NC *2013-06-03 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2013-06-07 - Center Church on the Green - New Haven, CT *2013-06-11 - Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead - Munhall, PA *2013-06-15 - Buskirk-Chumley Theater - Bloomington, IN *2013-06-16 - Space - Evanston, IL *2013-07-26 - Newport Folk Festival - Newport, RI *2014-06-19 - Eyeconik Records and Apparel - Las Cruces, NM *2015-04-02 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN *2015-04-03 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC *2015-04-07 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC *2015-04-08 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2015-04-09 - Webster Hall - New York, NY *2015-04-11 - One on One Session - City Winery - New York, NY *2015-04-12 - City Winery - New York, NY *2015-04-13 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2015-04-14 - House of Blues - Boston, MA *2015-04-16 - Bogart's - Cincinnati, OH *2015-04-17 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI *2015-04-18 - Vic Theater - Chicago, IL *2015-04-19 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN *2015-04-21 - Headliners - Louisville, KY *2015-04-22 - Wexner Center - Columbus, OH *2015-04-23 - Mr. Small's - Millvale, PA *2015-05-08 - Shaky Knees Festival - Atlanta, GA *2015-05-26 - Gothic Theatre - Denver, CO *2015-05-27 - Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT *2015-05-29 - KEXP Session - Alaska Junction - Seattle, WA *2015-05-29 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *2015-05-30 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR *2015-06-01 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2015-06-02 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA *2015-06-03 - The Mayan - Los Angeles, CA *2015-06-04 - Pappy and Harriet's - Pioneertown, CA *2015-06-07 - Houston Free Press Festival - Houston, TX *2015-06-08 - Kessler Theater - Dallas, TX *2015-06-09 - Austin City Limits - Moody Theater - Austin, TX *2015-10-02 - Bijou Theatre - Knoxville, TN *2015-10-03 - Neighborhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC *2015-10-04 - Saturn - Birmingham, AL *2015-10-05 - 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA *2015-10-07 - Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL *2015-10-08 - The Beacham Theatre - Orlando, FL *2015-10-09 - Colonial Quarter - St. Augustine, FL *2015-10-10 - The Orpheum - Tampa, FL *2015-11-12 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, England *2015-11-13 - Art School - Glasgow, Scotland *2015-11-14 - Whelan's - Dublin, Ireland *2015-11-15 - Gorilla - Manchester, England *2015-11-17 - Trinity - Bristol, England *2015-11-18 - Komedia - Brighton, England *2015-11-19 - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire - London, England *2015-11-20 - Autumn Falls Festival - Le Botanique - Brussels, Belgium *2015-11-22 - Paradiso Noord, Tolhuistuin - Amsterdam, Netherlands *2016-04-12 - City Winery - Chicago, IL *2016-04-13 - City Winery - Chicago, IL *2016-04-14 - Covenant Fine Arts Center - Calvin College - Grand Rapids, MI *2016-04-16 - Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center - York, PA *2016-04-19 - City Winery - New York, NY *2016-07-23 - Wicker Park Festival - Chicago, IL *2016-09-19 - The National - Richmond, VA Videos of this Song *2012-07-28 - Antiwarpt Festival - St. Petersburg, FL *2012-07-xx - Gothamist House Session - Florida Keys Recording Studio Rooftop - Queens, NY *2012-10-14 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY *2012-12-03 - Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK *2015-04-09 - Webster Hall - New York, NY *2015-04-11 - One on One Session - City Winery - New York, NY *2015-04-12 - City Winery - New York, NY *2015-04-17 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI *2015-11-19 - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire - London, England Category:Transcendental Youth songs Category:Video